Chapter Summaries

Gu Sheng disguised himself as a traveling merchant to investigate Li Family Fort and devised a plan to kill Li Yu while avoiding Han Lu, a Blood Refining Realm martial artist. After Han Lu left, Gu Sheng prepared poisoned arrows and set out for Li Family Fort on a dark, windy night.

• Gu Sheng used his Body Shifting and Bone Changing Art to survey Li Family Fort and learn about its defenders and residents.
• Gu Sheng discovered that Du Jiangbo and Li Yu were hostile to each other and planned to frame Du Jiangbo for Li Yu’s death.
• Gu Sheng learned Han Lu visited Li Family Fort roughly twice a month and decided to act only after he had left.
• Han Lu stayed two extra days with Li Yu before departing, while Du Jiangbo watched him leave with a dark expression.
• Gu Sheng coated his arrows with poison, changed his appearance, and slipped out of Gu Family Village toward Li Family Fort.

Gu Sheng infiltrated Li Family Fort and killed the two Black Sand Gang martial artists guarding Li Yu. He entered the dark pavilion, leaving his next move unknown.

• Two Black Sand Gang martial artists discussed guarding Li Yu and mocked Du Jiangbo while waiting outside the pavilion.
• Gu Sheng ambushed the lean, tall martial artist and killed him with an axe before hiding the body.
• Gu Sheng shot the burly martial artist through the throat, then finished him with a punch and hid his corpse.
• Gu Sheng entered the dark pavilion after killing both guards.

Gu Sheng killed Li Yu and two Black Sand Gang martial artists as part of a plan to shift suspicion onto Du Jiangbo. When Gu Sheng moved to kill Du Jiangbo, Du Jiangbo revealed he had resisted the sleeping incense and counterattacked.

• Gu Sheng entered Li Yu’s attic, overcame her sleeve crossbow, and killed her after she recognized him as Xiao Yan’s murderer.
• Gu Sheng searched the attic and decided to frame Du Jiangbo for Li Yu’s death.
• Gu Sheng entered Du Jiangbo’s residence and used sleeping incense to knock out Du Jiangbo and the two Black Sand Gang martial artists guarding him.
• Gu Sheng killed both unconscious Black Sand Gang martial artists and approached Du Jiangbo with his short blade.
• Du Jiangbo, who had stayed conscious by biting his tongue and holding his breath, evaded Gu Sheng’s attack and charged at him.

Gu Sheng defeated Du Jiangbo and forced him to agree to take the blame for the Black Sand Gang killings and flee Canghe County. He demanded that Du Jiangbo swallow a child pill from a Mother-Child Insect Gu to ensure he could track him.

• Du Jiangbo attacked Gu Sheng, but Gu Sheng evaded him and overpowered him with his axe and Iron Stone Fist.
• Gu Sheng revealed that he had planned to make Du Jiangbo take responsibility for the killings, with a fallback plan to impersonate him if he refused.
• Du Jiangbo claimed that Han Lu and his wife had betrayed and controlled him, then agreed to flee and claim responsibility for the Black Sand Gang members' deaths.
• To prove his commitment, Du Jiangbo stabbed the two dead Black Sand Gang martial artists until their bodies were unrecognizable.
• Gu Sheng presented Du Jiangbo with a child pill from a Mother-Child Insect Gu and said it would let him track Du Jiangbo wherever he went.

Gu Sheng forced Du Jiangbo to take a fake poison pill and used him to retrieve Li Yu’s hidden gold before they burned down the red attic. After Du Jiangbo fled to carry out their arrangement in Baishi Town, Gu Sheng returned to Gu Family Village with his identity concealed and enough wealth to fund his cultivation.

• Du Jiangbo swallowed Gu Sheng’s fake poison pill and agreed to appear in Baishi Town within the next few days.
• Du Jiangbo led Gu Sheng to the red attic, where Gu Sheng revealed he had killed Li Yu and took the gold hidden in its walls.
• Du Jiangbo beheaded Li Yu, dissolved the corpses, and set the red attic on fire after carving a threat to Han Lu into a stone pillar.
• Du Jiangbo left to flee Canghe County, and Gu Sheng promised he would avenge him if Han Lu killed him.
• Gu Sheng returned home, discarded his disguise, counted his gains, and planned to reach the Jade Skin stage before spring.

After Han Lu discovered the destruction at Li Family Fort, he ordered a countywide hunt for Du Jiangbo. Du Jiangbo jumped from Yun Jian Cliff to evade capture, and Gu Sheng resolved to avenge him someday before returning to his cultivation.

• Han Lu arrived at Li Family Fort, found Li Yu’s remains and Du Jiangbo’s carved message, and ordered the Black Sand Gang to hunt Du Jiangbo throughout the county.
• Gu Erniu told Gu Sheng that Du Jiangbo had killed the Black Sand Gang martial artists and Li Yu; Gu Sheng concealed his knowledge and hoped Du Jiangbo would escape.
• Du Jiangbo revealed himself in Baishi Town as agreed, but Leng Yun and the Black Sand Gang pursued him toward the mountains.
• Cornered at Yun Jian Cliff, Du Jiangbo defied his pursuers and jumped into the abyss; Leng Yun concluded he had died and led the gang away.
• After hearing that Du Jiangbo had fallen, Gu Sheng vowed to kill Han Lu and Leng Yun if he became strong enough, then resumed practicing his fists.

Gu Sheng continued cultivating Iron Stone Fist and preparing for the Jade Skin stage while the turmoil around Li Family Fort faded. After celebrating the new year with his companions, he encountered Gu Xiaojiang, a friend he had not seen for a long time.

• Gu Sheng decided to focus on perfecting Iron Stone Fist and carefully rationed Body Tempering Paste to preserve resources for later breakthroughs.
• Zhao Honglie reprimanded Han Lu for drawing attention to the Black Sand Gang and ordered him to kneel at headquarters for three days and remain there afterward.
• As winter passed, Gu Sheng's Iron Stone Fist and Body Shifting and Bone Changing Art progressed, and he planned to claim Stone Skin when he reached Jade Skin next spring.
• The unrest involving Du Jiangbo, Li Yu, and Han Lu faded, while a Black Sand Gang martial artist took over Li Family Fort and some residents fled.
• Gu Sheng celebrated year's end with Gu Erniu and the hunters, then saw Gu Xiaojiang waiting near his home.

Gu Sheng helped Gu Xiaojiang find insight into Iron Stone Fist, then learned that Canghe County’s growing political instability could soon force Gu Family Village into conflict. As he resolved to strengthen himself before turmoil arrived, he tracked an adult tiger in Cang Mountain, believing it was within his ability to hunt.

• Gu Xiaojiang visited Gu Sheng after half a year of intense cultivation and admitted that he had reached the limit of Stone Skin but was struggling to master Iron Stone Fist.
• Gu Sheng sparred with Gu Xiaojiang and guided him into freely switching Iron Stone Fist from combat technique to training method, giving him the breakthrough insight he needed for major mastery.
• Gu Xiaojiang hurried off to seek Gu Jingang’s confirmation, while Gu Sheng continued practicing alone.
• Gu Sheng learned that Liu Yuanhu had become Canghe County’s acting county magistrate while retaining his county lieutenant post, and feared that Liu Yuanhu and the Black Sand Gang would soon clash and draw in Gu Family Village.
• Gu Sheng resolved to reach at least the peak of Blood Refining before turmoil arrived, and planned to seek Blood Nourishing Powder once he advanced to Jade Skin.
• After spring began, Gu Sheng tracked signs of an adult male tiger in Cang Mountain and judged that it was small enough for him to hunt.

Gu Sheng killed a tiger with his archery and fists, then returned to Gu Family Village with the carcass and let villagers believe he had reached the Stone Skin stage. As he prepared to pursue Jade Skin, the clan elders decided to offer him a marriage alliance and resources in exchange for deeper ties to the village.

• Gu Sheng ambushed a sleeping tiger with arrows, crippled it, and beat it to death in close combat.
• Gu Sheng disguised his injuries and altered the story of the hunt before carrying the tiger into Gu Family Village, where the villagers marveled at his strength and Er Gou decided to send his son to train in martial arts.
• Gu Sheng processed the tiger and shared some meat and bones with Gu Erniu, then resolved to focus on breaking through to Jade Skin.
• Gu Jingang told the clan elders that Xiao Jiang was close to advancing his Iron Stone Fist, and they discussed strengthening the village amid political dangers and the secret forging of iron armor.
• The Great Clan Elder proposed that Gu Changming arrange a marriage between Gu Sheng and a young woman from the main family, promising resources and responsibilities if Gu Sheng accepted the village's offer.

Gu Sheng advanced to Jade Skin and prepared to seek Blood Nourishing Powder at the black market. After refusing the clan elders’ marriage proposal, he maintained his friendship with Gu Xiaojiang, and the chapter ended with him ready to leave after the Black Sand Gang collected its tribute.

• Gu Sheng’s Iron Stone Fist practice carried him through a natural breakthrough into Jade Skin, granting him greater resilience, controlled skin pores, and the ability to anticipate opponents’ movements.
• Gu Sheng assessed his new strength, concluded he needed Blood Nourishing Powder to begin Blood Refining, and decided to wait until the Black Sand Gang’s tribute visit had passed before going to the black market.
• Gu Xiaojiang visited to celebrate reaching major accomplishment in Iron Stone Fist and breaking through to Iron Skin, then told Gu Sheng that the clan elders wanted him to marry into the main family in exchange for support.
• Gu Sheng declined the marriage proposal but accepted the house and farmland deeds Gu Xiaojiang brought, and the two sparred as friends.
• The Black Sand Gang collected the usual three thousand taels in tribute under Fire Hall Master Ning Kang, and Gu Sheng decided it was time to visit the black market.

Gu Sheng visited Canghe County to sell hunting goods, buy supplies, and learn about the Black Market Auction. After collecting his custom arrows, he disguised himself and baited the seller of the Body Shifting and Bone Changing Art by offering a hundred taels for the manual and its supposed accompanying secrets, leaving the seller tempted.

• Gu Sheng sold his tiger goods to several wealthy households, bought ten portions of Blood Nourishing Powder, and exchanged his four-stone bow for a six-stone bow while commissioning custom arrows.
• Gu Sheng learned from Old Xu that the Black Market Auction offered rare resources and required a costly entry token, so he planned to raise more money before the next auction.
• Three days later, Gu Sheng collected his custom arrows and changed his appearance before returning to the black market.
• Gu Sheng approached the seller of the Body Shifting and Bone Changing Art and offered a hundred taels for the manual together with its supposed secret art or medicine, making the seller's heart jolt.

Gu Sheng used his apparent wealth and staged injuries to lure black-market criminals, killing the Black Wind Three Fiends and drawing out the vendor who sold the Body Shifting and Bone Changing Art. When the vendor attacked him outside the city, Gu Sheng revealed his Jade Skin strength and overwhelmed him, leaving the vendor begging to trade for his life.

• Gu Sheng flaunted his silver in the black market to tempt the Body Shifting and Bone Changing Art vendor into following him, but three other criminals attacked first.
• Gu Sheng killed the Black Wind Three Fiends while pretending to be badly injured, then searched their belongings and used Corpse Dissolving Water on their bodies.
• The masked vendor examined the remains and followed Gu Sheng out of the city, waiting for a chance to attack.
• The vendor fired poisoned crossbow bolts and rushed Gu Sheng with daggers, but Gu Sheng revealed that he had reached the Jade Skin stage.
• Gu Sheng battered the vendor with his perfected Iron Stone Fist, and the vendor begged for mercy and offered to trade the matching medicinal ointment.

Gu Sheng killed the black-market stall owner who had followed him and obtained the Body Shifting and Bone Changing Art’s medicinal ointments and the Snake Breathing Technique. Back in his hidden chamber, he began changing his blood with medicinal baths and used the ointments to accelerate his training, leaving him poised to practice the Snake Breathing Technique.

• Gu Sheng defeated the stall owner, prevented him from taking poison, and tortured him into revealing the ointment recipe and Snake Breathing Technique before killing him.
• Gu Sheng verified the techniques, discovered the stall owner worked as a guard for a wealthy household in Canghe County, and decided to postpone visiting the Black Market Auction until he reached the Blood Refining Realm.
• Gu Sheng returned safely to his hidden chamber and took a Blood Nourishing Powder medicinal bath, beginning to temper his flesh for the Blood Refining Realm.
• Gu Sheng estimated that about forty medicinal baths, taken every three days, would bring his flesh to its limit and prepare him to produce blood and qi power.
• Gu Sheng used the two accompanying ointments to practice the Body Shifting and Bone Changing Art, finding that they greatly improved his training and could help him reach perfection within days.

Gu Sheng perfected the Body Shifting and Bone Changing Art, advanced his other techniques, and quietly built his strength toward the Blood Refining Realm. After hearing reports of unusually large beasts appearing in nearby villages, he wondered if they shared a cause and estimated he would reach the limit of flesh and blood in about half a month.

• Gu Sheng practiced the Snake Breathing Technique and the Iron Stone Fist while continuing his medicinal baths and training alongside Gu Xiaojiang.
• Gu Sheng perfected the Body Shifting and Bone Changing Art, gaining the ability to alter his appearance and physique while also preparing his inner force for future bone tempering.
• Gu Sheng trained in secret for nearly two months, advanced the Snake Breathing Technique to minor achievement, and decided to postpone attending the Black Market Auction until after he reached the Blood Refining Realm.
• Gu Sheng heard that Dahe Village hunters had killed an enormous black bear and recalled that other villages had recently encountered tigers, including the injured tiger he had hunted.
• Gu Sheng concealed his strength from his friends and concluded that he would reach the limit of flesh and blood in about half a month.

Gu Sheng advanced the Snake Breathing Technique to great accomplishment, gaining the ability to conceal his force and blood energy as well as strengthen surprise attacks. After safely escorting Gu Family Village’s procurement convoy to the city and back, he returned home eager to finish his remaining medicinal baths and enter the Blood Refining Realm.

• Gu Sheng combined the Snake Breathing Technique with his martial arts practice and advanced it to great accomplishment, allowing him to conceal his aura and the fluctuations of his force and blood energy.
• Gu Sheng reviewed his progress and planned to buy more Blood Nourishing Powder while guarding the village’s procurement convoy in the city.
• Gu Sheng met Gu Xiaojiang and spoke with him about his ambition to reach the Blood Refining Realm before age eighteen and his hope that Gu Dajiang would use a Blood Strengthening Pill.
• Gu Xiaojiang told Gu Sheng that Gu Dajiang had once intended to give him a Blood Strengthening Pill, but Gu Xiaojiang hoped his father would take it instead.
• Gu Sheng bought more than a dozen portions of Blood Nourishing Powder in the city’s Black Market, and the convoy returned safely to Gu Family Village two days later.
• Gu Sheng received three taels of silver for his service and returned home, expecting to reach the limit of his flesh and blood after three more medicinal baths.

Gu Sheng reached the Blood Refining Realm, then hunted a black bear in Cang Mountain and discovered signs that something dangerous had stirred in the deep mountains. He escaped with the bear’s carcass and decided not to enter Cang Mountain again for the time being.

• After more than forty medicinal baths, Gu Sheng reached the limit of his flesh and blood and trained the Iron Stone Fist until his inner force transformed into qi and blood, advancing to the Blood Refining Realm.
• Gu Sheng assessed his new strength, planned to attend the upcoming Black Market Auction for a body-tempering manual, and spent the next several days consolidating his cultivation.
• Gu Sheng followed a herb farmer’s report into Cang Mountain, where he found a brown bear killing and eating the wild boar he had tracked.
• Gu Sheng killed the brown bear with one arrow, then noticed its shriveled body resembled a tiger he had hunted earlier and recalled reports of fierce beasts appearing near Gu Family Village.
• Gu Sheng suspected something had changed in the deep mountains, carried the bear down the mountain, and resolved to stay out of Cang Mountain for now.

Gu Sheng avoided joining a dangerous hunt in Cang Mountain, where a demon fox slaughtered hunters and martial artists, including Gu Jinmu and Zhang Ze. Gu Family Village’s elders allied with county magistrate Liu Yuanhu to hunt the fox, and the returning party’s arrival suggested the gamble had succeeded.

• Gu Sheng warned Gu Erniu, Zhang Ze, and others to stay out of the mountains, then refused Gu Jinmu’s invitation to join a beast hunt.
• A demon fox emerged from Cang Mountain and killed most of the hunters and martial artists who had entered, including Gu Jinmu and Zhang Ze.
• Gu Sheng comforted Gu Erniu over Zhang Ze’s death, while Gu Family Village’s elders decided to share news of the demon fox with county magistrate Liu Yuanhu.
• Liu Yuanhu and a group of Blood Refining Realm martial artists entered Cang Mountain with Gu Changming, Gu Dajiang, and Gu Family Village’s other experts to hunt the demon fox.
• Gu Sheng stayed behind with Gu Xiaojiang, then sensed the returning party’s qi and blood as a messenger announced that Gu Dajiang and the others had come back.

Gu Family Village submitted to Liu Yuanhu after helping hunt a demon fox, while Gu Sheng prepared to strengthen himself and attended a black-market auction. The auction began with the sale of an enslaved youth, leaving Gu Sheng disgusted by the people behind the market.

• Liu Yuanhu rewarded Gu Family Village for assisting with the demon fox hunt and announced plans to move against the Black Sand Gang.
• Liu Yuanhu promised Gu Xiaojiang a fortuitous opportunity if he reached the Blood Refining Realm before turning eighteen, and the village elders resolved to help him.
• Gu Sheng decided to attend the upcoming Black Market Auction to buy a body-tempering manual, then traveled to the auction site outside the city.
• Gu Sheng entered the auction in disguise and was taken by sedan chair to a luxurious pavilion where masked guests gathered.
• Lü Lüo opened the auction by presenting an enslaved youth, who was sold to a bidder as Gu Sheng watched in disgust.

Gu Sheng attended the Black Market Auction, bought the Flying Thunder Leg manual, and grew suspicious when the Heart of the Demon Fox appeared as the finale. After someone stole the heart, the County Magistrate led soldiers to attack the auction, leaving Gu Sheng caught inside the chaos.

• Gu Sheng watched the auction and noted several wealthy or powerful bidders, including a burly man in an ox-faced mask and a woman in a rabbit-faced mask.
• The man in the ox-faced mask won the Golden Body Art for 1,300 taels, while Gu Sheng could not afford it.
• Gu Sheng bid 280 taels and won the Flying Thunder Leg manual, leaving himself with only a few dozen taels.
• Lü Lüo presented the Heart of the Demon Fox and claimed it could help someone reach the peak of the Blood Refining Realm; Gu Sheng suspected its appearance was a trap.
• The Heart of the Demon Fox drew bids as high as 10,500 taels before someone snatched it, triggering violence inside the auction.
• The County Magistrate accused the auction of operating a filthy den and ordered his soldiers to kill everyone there.

Gu Sheng escaped the burning Black Market Auction and fought through Liu Yuanhu’s ambushers, but the injured woman in white redirected her pursuers toward him by claiming he carried her Blood Strengthening Pill. After killing the attackers, Gu Sheng set off after her, intent on making her pay.

• Liu Yuanhu’s forces attacked the Black Market Auction, and Gu Sheng hid his strength while escaping amid the fighting.
• Liu Yuanhu pursued a powerful ghost-masked man as Gu Sheng slipped away and encountered the injured woman in white, who asked him to cooperate; he refused and continued alone.
• Ambushers attacked Gu Sheng near the foot of the mountain, and the woman in white shouted that he had her Blood Strengthening Pill, drawing most of them onto him while she escaped.
• Gu Sheng slaughtered the ambushers, searched their bodies for silver, and tracked the woman in white, vowing to take the Blood Strengthening Pill and punish her.